Use MPIO with QNAP Turbo NAS

Transcription

1 Use MPIO with QNAP Turbo NAS

2 How to connect to your QNAP Turbo NAS from Windows Server 2012 using MPIO QNAP provides you with what others cannot! In addition to the other available features on your Turbo NAS, MPIO (Multipath Input Output) enables you to have multiple paths to reach an iscsi target. Please note that only x86-based Turbo NAS support MPIO. Benefits of using MPIO on a Turbo NAS: - Ensures failover. It will avoid downtime n the event of network problems (faulty cable, switch power unit malfunction) with every application remaining online. - It can provide load balancing. Whenever a large transfer occurs, it can use different switches to avoid the possibility of overloading a switch. - It is supported by many third-party applications. In this application note, we will set a standard failover multipath I/O to access your favorite Turbo NAS from Windows Server Before getting started, please note: - DO NOT use NIC Teaming on the server: NIC Teaming used with iscsi is not supported by Microsoft. - DO NOT use MCS and MPIO together to connect a target. Microsoft does not support that configuration: Although it is technically possible to layer Microsoft MPIO and MCS together since they function at different layers in the Windows stack, Microsoft does not support the layering of MPIO and MCS due to complexities this can introduce if troubleshooting is needed on a configuration. - See Microsoft iscsi Software Initiator Version 2.X Users Guide 871AF/uGuide.doc

3 Abstract Physical network architecture... 1 Logical network architecture... 2 Different failures and failover... 3 Handled by MPIO feature... 3 Handled by QNAP trunking mode (failover setting)... 4 Prerequisites... 5 Set up... 6 Enable Multipath feature in Windows Server Connect to QNAP iscsi portal... 8 Connect 1 path for 1 iscsi target LUN Enable Multipath on iscsi devices and reboot Connect the second path to iscsi target LUN Check the settings Application Others Jumble Frame Unbind Unnecessary Protocols... 27

4 Physical network architecture MPIO is useful when both your Turbo NAS and Windows Server are connected with 2 network cards, 2 cables on 2 different switches. You can use network failover in such configuration, and you will be able the use multipath feature in case of a broken cable or switch failure. 1 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

5 Logical network architecture On Windows Server 2012, you will need 2 network cards with 2 different IP addresses. On the Turbo NAS, you can enable the trunking mode to allow network failover (port trunking is enabled by default on Turbo NAS). Here are the 2 logical paths that Windows Server 2012 will use: 2 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

6 Different failures and failover Handled by MPIO feature If the cable or the switch linked to IP1 fails, path 1 will fail, but path 2 will remain up: If the cable or the switch linked to IP2 fails, path 2 will fail, but path 1 will remain up: 3 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

7 Handled by QNAP trunking mode (failover setting) If one of the cable linked to the Turbo NAS fails, all paths will remain UP, because it is protected by the QNAP port trunking mode: 4 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

8 Prerequisites - Have at least 2 network interfaces, with different IP addresses on Windows Server Have Multipath I/O feature enabled. - Have Multipath enabled on iscsi devices. - Have an existing iscsi target created on the Turbo NAS. - To allow full network failover, have the trunking mode enabled on the Turbo NAS. - You MUST be running firmware version (or above) on your Turbo NAS. 5 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

9 Set up Set up an iscsi target on your Turbo NAS You can refer the online application note How to create and use the iscsi target service on the QNAP NAS on Enable Multipath feature in Windows Server 2012 First, ensure that MPIO is enabled on Windows Server Go to the Server Manager panel, "Tools" and check if Multipath I/O is enabled. 6 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

10 If Multipath I/O is not enabled, you can add it by using "Add roles and features Choose the checkbox Multipath I/O, and then click install. 7 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

11 Connect to QNAP iscsi portal Once MPIO (Multipath I/O) is enabled, you can add an iscsi LUN with MPIO support, for ONLY one of your network card: From the Administrative Tools, launch the iscsi Initiator: 8 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

12 You will open a new window and you will be able to connect to the first path to your iscsi target LUN. Click the "Discovery" tab, and then click "Add Portal" to add your Turbo NAS: 9 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

13 Enter the IP address or DNS name of your Turbo NAS Click OK. Return to the initiator window; go to the Targets tab, and you will see all the targets on your Turbo NAS. 10 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

14 Connect 1 path for 1 iscsi target LUN Select the target you want to connect to, and then click Connect In the new window, check Add this connection to the list of Favorite Targets to make that iscsi target LUN to be connected at Windows startup. Check Enable multi-path Then click Advanced Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

15 In the Advanced Settings you can add a specific target initiator pair in one of the iscsi networks ONLY by choosing the initiator IP (first IP address, for example) and target portal IP. We will add the remaining iscsi path once MPIO is configured ( om/enus/library/dd aspx. We need at least one iscsi connection to enable Multipath on iscsi devices.) Click OK. Then click OK again. You can see if your iscsi target LUN is connected. 12 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

16 Enable Multipath on iscsi devices and reboot Now, we have to enable MPIO (Multipath I/O) for iscsi devices. To do so, we have to open the MPIO panel from the Administrative Tools: Here is the MPIO panel: 13 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

17 We are going to add multipath support for iscsi devices. Change to the Discover Multi-paths tab. Then check add support for iscsi devices and click Add (you must connect to the iscsi device otherwise this part will be grayed out) Click Yes to restart Windows. 14 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

18 Once you have restarted, you can go back to the MPIO properties and see a new device. No action is necessary here; just click OK once you see the new device 15 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

19 Connect the second path to iscsi target LUN. We will now connect the second path to our iscsi target LUN. You can open the iscsi initiator from the Administrative Tools. Go to the Targets tab. Click Connect again, even if the target is already connected. (Remember we have previously connected the target with 1 path) 16 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

20 Again: - Check Add this connection to the list of Favorite Targets connection to make that iscsi target LUN be connected at Windows startup. - Check Enable multipath. Click Advanced... Add the specific target-initiator pair in the remaining iscsi network: - Choose Microsoft iscsi Initiator - Select your second IP address as the source IP (Second IP: ) - Select your Turbo NAS portal Click OK. Then click OK again. Your iscsi target is connected with MPIO with failover. If one of your network links fails, the connection will remain. 17 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

21 Check the settings We are done, but we can verify if everything is ok: - In the main iscsi initiator panel, select your target LUN and click Details. You will see your two connected sessions. Click Properties 18 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

22 You can see the 2 sessions that have different paths. In the Devices tab 19 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

23 you can see 2 devices 20 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

24 Application Note that the two devices will be handled by the MPIO layer to avoid the system seeing two different disks. You will see only one disk in the disk management panel. - You can also find those two connections by opening a command prompt window (cmd.exe) and using netstat.exe. We can see the two connections that are connected to the same IP. 21 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

25 - In Server Management console, go to All Server > File and Storage Services > Disk. You can see the newly added disks as designated. 22 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

26 - You can now format the disk, bring it online and create a volume for it 23 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

27 Others Jumble Frame According to Microsoft iscsi Software Initiator Version 2.X Users Guide, you can enable Jumbo Frame (jumbo packet) on all your equipment to enhance performance. if Jumbo Frames if supported in your network infrastructure. Jumbo Frames can be used to allow more data to be transferred with each Ethernet transaction and reduce the number of frames. This larger frame size reduces the overhead on both your servers and iscsi targets. For end to end support, each device in the network needs to support Jumbo frames including the NIC and Ethernet switches. In Windows Server 2012, click Configure in your network interface properties 24 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

28 Go the Advanced tab, find Jumbo Packet in menu. Specify the speed in Value menu. 25 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

29 And on your Turbo NAS from the Control Panel, go to System Settings > Network. Find the interface used to connect to Window Server 2012 and click the Edit icon In Network Parameters, specify the speed in Jumbo Frame. 26 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

30 Unbind Unnecessary Protocols You can also unbind unnecessary protocols from your iscsi NICs to optimize your connection. This should be done only on DEDICATED network interfaces that are only used for iscsi. Clear the checkbox for Client for Microsoft Networks Clear the checkbox for File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks Clear the checkbox for QoS Packet Scheduler Clear the checkboxes for the Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper I/O Driver Clear the checkboxes for the Link-Layer Topology Discovery Responder Clear the checkboxes for the Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) 27 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

31 Double click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IP4) ; click Advanced in the General tab Go to the DNS tab and clear the checkbox for Register this connection's address in DNS 28 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.

32 Go to the WINS tab and clear the checkbox for Enable LMHOSTS Lookup and select the radio button for Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP 29 Copyright QNAP Systems, Inc.